The Cantiaci or Cantii were an Iron Age Celtic people living in Britain before the Roman conquest, and gave their name to a '' civitas'' of

Roman Britain Roman Britain was the period in classical antiquity when large parts of the island of Great Britain were under occupation by the Roman Empire. The occupation lasted from AD 43 to AD 410. During that time, the territory conquered was ...

. They lived in the area now called

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, in south-eastern England. Their capital was ''

Durovernum Cantiacorum Durovernum Cantiacorum was a town and hillfort ( la, oppidum) in Roman Britain at the site of present-day Canterbury in Kent. It occupied a strategic location on Watling Street at the best local crossing of the Stour, which prompted a convergence ...

'', now

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. ...

. They were bordered by the

Regni The Regni, Regini, or Regnenses were a Tribe which occupied modern West Sussex, East Sussex, south-west Kent, eastern Surrey, and the eastern edges of Hampshire. Their Tribal centre was at Noviomagus_Reginorum (Chichester in West_Sussex), close ...

to the west, and the

Catuvellauni The Catuvellauni (Common Brittonic: *''Catu-wellaunī'', "war-chiefs") were a Celtic tribe or state of southeastern Britain before the Roman conquest, attested by inscriptions into the 4th century. The fortunes of the Catuvellauni and their ...

to the north.

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...

landed in Cantium in 55 and 54

BCE Common Era (CE) and Before the Common Era (BCE) are year notations for the Gregorian calendar (and its predecessor, the Julian calendar), the world's most widely used calendar era. Common Era and Before the Common Era are alternatives to the or ...

, the first

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

expeditions to Britain. He recounts in his ''

De Bello Gallico ''Commentarii de Bello Gallico'' (; en, Commentaries on the Gallic War, italic=yes), also ''Bellum Gallicum'' ( en, Gallic War, italic=yes), is Julius Caesar's firsthand account of the Gallic Wars, written as a third-person narrative. In it Ca ...

'' v. 14:

Rulers

Pre-Roman Iron Age

Julius Caesar named five Celtic tribes inhabiting the land that would become the "heartland of the

": the

Ancalites The Ancalites were a tribe of Iron Age Britain in the first century BCE. They are known only from a brief mention in the writings of Julius Caesar. They may have been one of the four tribes of Kent, represented in Caesar by references to the "four ...

, the

Bibroci The Bibroci were a tribe of Iron Age Britain in the first century BCE. They are known only from a brief mention in the writings of Julius Caesar. They may have been one of the four tribes of Kent, represented in Caesar by references to the "four k ...

, the Cassi, the

Cenimagni The Cenimagni were a tribe of Iron Age Britain in the first century BCE. They are known only from a brief mention in the writings of Julius Caesar. It has been suggested that the name is a variant of ''Iceni'' with the Latin adjective ''magni'', m ...

, and the

Segontiaci The Segontiaci were a tribe of Iron Age Britain in the first century BCE. They are known only from a brief mention in the writings of Julius Caesar. They may have been one of the four tribes of Kent, represented in Caesar by references to the "fou ...

, each with their own "king" or chieftain. He found their way of life to be very similar to their cousins in

Gaul Gaul ( la, Gallia) was a region of Western Europe first described by the Romans. It was inhabited by Celtic and Aquitani tribes, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, most of Switzerland, parts of Northern Italy (only during ...

with whom they were close – the invasion of Britain may have been triggered by the Britons' supply of arms to the Gauls, who were being subjugated by the Romans. Caesar mentions four kings,

Segovax Segovax (possibly from Celtic ''sego'' "victory") was one of the four kings of Kent during Julius Caesar's second expedition to Britain in 54 BC, alongside Cingetorix, Carvilius and Taximagulus. The four were allies of the British leader Cassiv ...

Carvilius Carvilius was one of the four kings of Kent during Caesar's second expedition to Britain in 54 BC, alongside Cingetorix, Segovax and Taximagulus. The four were allies of the British leader Cassivellaunus, and attacked the Roman naval camp in a ...

, Cingetorix, and

Taximagulus Taximagulus was one of the four kings of Kent during Caesar's second expedition to Britain in 54 BC, alongside Cingetorix, Carvilius and Segovax. The four were allies of the British leader Cassivellaunus, and attacked the Roman naval camp in an ...

, who held power in Cantium at the time of his second expedition in 54 BCE. The British leader

Cassivellaunus Cassivellaunus was a historical Celtic Britons, British military leader who led the defence against Caesar's invasions of Britain, Julius Caesar's second expedition to Britain in 54 BC. He led an alliance of tribes against Ancient Rome, Roman for ...

, besieged in his stronghold north of the Thames, sent a message to these four kings to attack the Roman naval camp as a distraction. The attack failed, a chieftain called

Lugotorix Lugotorix was a British chieftain who was captured after a failed attack by the four kings of Kent on Julius Caesar's naval camp in 54 BC. His name may mean "mouse-king". References *Julius Caesar, ''De Bello Gallico ''Commentarii de Bello Ga ...

was captured, and Cassivellaunus was forced to seek terms. In the century between Caesar's expeditions and the conquest under

Claudius Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (; 1 August 10 BC – 13 October AD 54) was the fourth Roman emperor, ruling from AD 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, Claudius was born to Nero Claudius Drusus, Drusu ...

(starting in 43 CE), kings in Britain began to issue coins stamped with their names. The following kings of the Cantiaci are known: *

Dubnovellaunus Dubnovellaunus or Dumnovellaunus was the name of at least one, and possibly several kings of south-eastern Britain in the late 1st century BC/early 1st century AD, known from coin legends and from a mention in the ''Res Gestae Divi Augusti''. *Dubn ...

: May have been an ally or sub-king of

Tasciovanus Tasciovanus (died c. 9 AD) was a historical king of the Catuvellauni tribe before the Roman conquest of Britain. History Tasciovanus is known only through numismatic evidence. He appears to have become king of the Catuvellauni c. 20 BC, ruling ...

of the Catuvellauni, or a son of Addedomarus of the

Trinovantes The Trinovantēs (Common Brittonic: *''Trinowantī'') or Trinobantes were one of the Celtic tribes of Pre-Roman Britain. Their territory was on the north side of the Thames estuary in current Essex, Hertfordshire and Suffolk, and included land ...

; presented himself as a supplicant to

Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pri ...

7 BCE. *

Vosenius Vodenos or Vosenios was a king of the Cantiaci of south-eastern Britain, and is known only from coin legends. He seems to have succeeded Dubnovellaunus to the throne of the Cantiaci towards the end of the 1st century BC, although their reigns may ha ...

, ruled until c. 15 CE. *

Eppillus Eppillus (Celtic: "little horse") was the name of a Roman client king of the Atrebates tribe of the British Iron Age. He appears to have ruled part of the territory that had previously been held by Commius, the Gaulish former ally of Julius Caesa ...

, originally king of the Atrebates: Coins indicate he became king of the Cantiaci c. 15 CE, at the same time as his brother

Verica Verica (early 1st century AD) was a British client king of the Roman Empire in the years preceding the Claudian invasion of 43 AD. From his coinage, he appears to have been king of the, probably Belgic, Atrebates tribe and a son of Commius. Th ...

became king of the Atrebates. *

Cunobelinus Cunobeline (or Cunobelin, from Latin , derived from Common Brittonic ''*Cunobelinos'' "Strong as a Dog", "Strong Dog") was a king in pre-Roman Britain from about AD 9 until about AD 40.Malcolm Todd (2004)"Cunobelinus_ ymbeline/nowiki>_(d._''c'_...

,_king_of_the_Catuvellauni:_Expanded_his_influence_into_Cantiaci_territory. *Adminius,_son_of_Cunobelinus:_Seems_to_have_ruled_on_his_father's_behalf,_beginning_c. 30 CE._Lives_of_the_Twelve_Caesars.html" "title="Adminius.html" ;"title="ymbeline/nowiki>_(d._''c' ...

Rulers

Pre-Roman Iron Age

Sub-Roman period

See also

References

Bibliography

External links